Friday, April 10, 2015

Well, the final day has come at last! I just want to thank everyone who hung around this past week and helped celebrate the release of Wait for Morning with me! I had a blast, and I hope you all enjoyed WFM (or will enjoy it when you read it)! And for all of you that stuck around, I've included an exclusive scene todaythat I hope you'll enjoy as well.

You get to meet Marissa's brother Clay in Wait for Morning. Here's a little insight into what happened to him when he went to get coffee one morning... Enjoy!

Friday
morning, 8 a.m.

“Mornin’,” Clay
Trexler greeted Ally Shaffaer when he made his way into the small, but very busy coffee shop located on the ground
floor of the building he worked in. The building his family actually owned.

“Good mornin’,” she replied
sweetly, big brown eyes peering back at him from behind the counter. “Same as
yesterday?”

Clay nodded, fighting the urge to smile. Yes, he was at Percolation, the stellar coffee shop housed on the
bottom floor of his office building, to order the same as yesterday and the day
before and the day before that. In fact,
Clay was pretty sure it was the only thing he’d ever ordered from there. Coming
in for a large black coffee was part of his morning routine and being that he
was allergic to change, he was certain he’d be drinking the same coffee when he
was old and gray.

He watched as Ally retrieved a large Styrofoam cup from the
towering stack teetering precariously on the counter before turning to one of
the many machines behind her. She pulled the spigot and dark liquid and steam
filled the cup until she turned it off.

It wasn’t that the coffee pouring into the cup was all that
interesting, but Clay figured watching the process
of making coffee was the lesser of two evils. Either watch Ally work or watch Ally’s ass while she worked.
Considering the last time he’d checked out her extremely fine backside, he’d been busted by the woman
herself.

“On the house,” Ally told him when she turned to face him,
just as she did every morning.

“Thanks,” he responded and then slid a five dollar bill into
the tip jar.

“Why do you do that?” Ally asked suddenly and his morning
routine immediately veered off course. Generally,
Ally would smile, her beautiful face aglow with gratitude and he would
disappear out the door and trudge up the seven flights of stairs—more to burn
off excess energy than for any exercise-related health benefits—to his office.

Not today.

“Do what?” he
asked as he eased out of the way of the other customers who were in line behind
him.

“Put that much in the tip jar?”

“Because I want to?” he said, phrasing his answer as a question because he wasn’t quite sure
where she was going with this.

“It defeats the purpose, you know?”

Was it him or did she seem rather argumentative?

“I know,” he said calmly, studying her as she tracked him
from behind the oversized glass case that housed all of the pastries and other cholesterol-laden goodness that she sold.

When he was free of the throng of people, Clay sidled up to
the counter, close to where Ally was now standing. For a moment, he considered
asking her a question of his own. Perhaps something along the lines of, “Would
you be interested in going out with me?” or maybe something simple like, “How
about dinner?”

He didn’t ask either question because he’d never conjured up
enough nerve to ask the lovely coffee shop owner anything. Hell, she had even
managed to eliminate his need to request coffee for himself. But the way she
was staring back at him made him believe she was actually waiting for him to
ask something. What, he had no idea.

“Are you all right?” he finally asked when neither of them
said anything, the cacophony of the busy store growing louder as they stood
staring at one another.

Finally, after what seemed like an interminably long time,
Ally nodded her head. It wasn’t the direct response that made him question her
honesty though. It was the shadows that passed through her eyes as her gaze
flipped to the door briefly, the way her brow creased slightly and how she
worried her bottom lip.

Was she trying to tell him something?

Then again, he’d always been the suspicious sort. Kind of
went along with the job.

Or maybe this was just... what? Mindless flirting?

Hell, Clay would admit that he wasn’t exactly up to speed on
the interworking of a woman’s mind, but surely he could figure out if a womanwere
flirting with him, couldn’t he?

Especially this woman.

Everyone knew Ally Shaffaer. They knew she owned Percolation.
They knew she was a bestselling author. They also knew she wasn’t big on
sharing details of her own life with many people, nor did she generally engage
in much conversation aside from the necessary pleasantries. Through the years, Ally
had become close friends with Clay’s sister, Marissa, but even Marissa had
mentioned how closed off Ally was at times.

So was this Ally’s way of opening up a little?

Or possibly just wishful thinking on his part?

Before Clay could muster up the nerve to dig deeper, to
question her, his cell phone rang. Snapping it from the clip on his belt, he
glanced at the screen before hitting the talk button, once again locking his
gaze with Ally’s.

While Clay snapped his phone back in place, he glanced down
at the coffee cup in his hand. Shit. There was no time for caffeine and if he had to deal with his father
or his brothers that early in the morning, he was going to need some.

Taking a sip, he smiled at Ally one last time. “Gotta run.
I’ll stop back by in a bit. Gonna need more of this,” he told her, raising his
cup for her to see before he tossed it into the trash receptacle near the door
on his way out.

Snatching his key from his pocket, Clay
made his way to his motorcycle—the red, white and black Yamaha YZF-R6 was his
pride and joy—and within seconds was out of the parking lot and on his way to
his parents’ house.

Too bad mentally he was still back in that damn coffee shop.
And the last thing on his mind was coffee.

To see a little more of Clay and learn about the rest of Sniper 1 Security,

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Is the week almost over already? Wow, time flies when you're havin' fun, huh? I hope you are all enjoying Wait for Morning! I know I'm enjoying all of your feedback!!

WFM Excerpt:

With the room cast in shadows and the light once again moving through the bathroom window, Trace inched toward the front door as he started the Escalade using the remote start button on his key fob, keeping Marissa close to him. Silently turning the knob, he pulled on the door and pushed it open with his foot, keeping them safely on the inside and out of the open.

Nothing.

Trace was tempted to laugh at the absurdity of it all, but he fought the urge as he peered around the doorjamb, checking left and then right before reaching for Marissa’s hand and pulling her with him. They didn’t bother closing the door as they eliminated the few feet between the motel room and the Escalade’s driver’s-side door.

With his eyes scanning their surroundings, he lifted the handle, pulled it open, and then urged Marissa inside, similar to the way he’d done back at the safe house. She scrambled into the driver’s seat without question, then launched herself over the center console as she tossed the duffel into the back. He jumped in behind her.

And that’s when things went to shit.

The front passenger door flew open, and a big guy who resembled the Michelin man with his bulky white coat grabbed for Marissa. Thankfully, the guy hadn’t taken her completely by surprise, earning himself a sharp kick to the solar plexus before he stumbled back a few feet. Marissa’s scream rent the otherwise silent air when the bastard reached for her again, this time jerking her from the Escalade.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Trace Kogan will go to any length to protect those who need protecting. That is the business he is in; the business his father, Casper Kogan, started with Bryce Trexler more than thirty-five years ago. Trace spends day and night eliminating threats to clients, so when the danger hits too close to home, he won’t let anything come between him and the woman who desperately needs his help.

His fear… the physical reaction he has to Marissa may pose a bigger danger than the ghost that they find themselves up against.

Marissa Trexler has spent the last twelve months of her life in hiding, tucked away in one safe house after another for her own protection. The threat to her is real even if the reason is still unknown. Strangely, whoever is after her seems to find her no matter where she goes, leading her family to believe it’s an inside job.

So when the decision is made that Trace will provide personal protection, she can’t say no, even if being close to him adds another level of danger… and this one is to her heart.

Marissa Trexler here... I tried to get Trace to post, but he graciously declined and informed me that I had more to say than him. He followed that by telling me that I sometimes managed to talk for hours on end. I don't agree, but I figured writing a brief note was a heck of a lot easier than arguing with him, so here I am. It's not a secret that Nicole is incredibly nervous about this release, although we've all attempted to assure her there was no reason to be worried. She hasn't listened and not even the pina colada she had with lunch has helped calm her nerves. But, maybe if we keep on her enough, she'll relax a little. (That or have another drink). Hope you all have a fantastic day and hopefully you're checking out Wait for Morning so you can see the excitement going on.

Monday, April 6, 2015

Who's excited for WFM to be released TOMORROW?? As usual, my nerves are catching up to me, and my husband and kids are sure to find me wringing my hands soon enough. But, I'm very excited and I hope you are too!

Trace Kogan will go to any length to protect those who need protecting. That is the business he is in; the business his father, Casper Kogan, started with Bryce Trexler more than thirty-five years ago. Trace spends day and night eliminating threats to clients, so when the danger hits too close to home, he won’t let anything come between him and the woman who desperately needs his help.

His fear… the physical reaction he has to Marissa may pose a bigger danger than the ghost that they find themselves up against.

Marissa Trexler has spent the last twelve months of her life in hiding, tucked away in one safe house after another for her own protection. The threat to her is real even if the reason is still unknown. Strangely, whoever is after her seems to find her no matter where she goes, leading her family to believe it’s an inside job.

So when the decision is made that Trace will provide personal protection, she can’t say no, even if being close to him adds another level of danger… and this one is to her heart.

When my iTunes library is feeling a little stale, I start looking up bands that I know I like and following the "People who bought this also like..." links until I stumble across something new. Well, that's exactly what happened when I came across the band, In This Moment. They're an American metal band with a kick-ass lead singer that put me in the perfect mindset for Wait For Morning.

I've been listening to them for a few weeks now and have yet to get tired of them (if you need proof, just look at my Play Counts below)! I may have even passed the band off to my daughter...

Their album Black Widow is out now and believe me when I say I've had it on repeat for quite some time now... I love it! I am definitely a fan. If you like metal, a great female vocalist, and music that can get you pumped for anything, I absolutely recommend you check them out!!